The lighthouse stands 290m above sea level, at the north-western extremity of the North Auckland Peninsula, 6km north-east of Cape Maria van Diemen. Below meet the two waters which surround New Zealand: the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The name means "place of leaping". Where, according to Maori lore, the souls of the departed leave for their future destination by way of the old Pohutukawa tree projecting out from the furthest headland - the western end of Spirits Bay.